Wildlife Photographer of the Year: People's Choice Award

Johan saw this little wildebeest shortly after it was born in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, South Africa. Little did he know that he would witness its death later that same day – the small herd of wildebeest walked right past a pride of lions and the calf was caught by a lioness and then taken by this male lion.

By: Johan Kloppers, South Africa

Hitching a ride

This female polar bear was resting with its two young cubs in Wapusk National Park, Manitoba, Canada, when it suddenly got up and rushed downhill through the deep snow. One of the cubs jumped on to her, holding onto her furry backside with a firm bite – totally unexpected and humorous behaviour.

By: Daisy Gilardini, Switzerland

A mother’s hand

Alain was on a wintertime visit to Japan’s Jigokudani Snow Monkey Park when he took this poignant photograph of a sleeping baby Japanese macaque, its mother’s hand covering its head protectively.

By: Alain Mafart Renodier, France

Head-on

Tapio took a trip to Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjell National Park, Norway, to find these magnificent oxen amid their natural habitat. Even though spring is not rutting season for these animals, they were already seriously testing their strength against each other and the air rang out with the loud bang of the head-on collision between these two beasts.

By: Tapio Kaisla, Finland

Confusion

Rudi wanted to capture the uncertainty of the future of the southern white rhino in the Welgevonden Game Reserve, South Africa, because of poaching. He anticipated the moment when these two rhinos would walk past each other, creating this silhouette effect and the illusion of a two-headed rhino.

By: Rudi Hulshof, South Africa

Into the fray

Stephen spent a week photographing golden snub-nosed monkeys in a valley in the Zhouzhi Nature Reserve in the Qinling Mountains, China. The monkeys have very thick fur, which they need to withstand the freezing nights in winter. This image shows two males about to fight, one already up on a rock, the other bounding in with a young male.

By: Stephen Belcher, New Zealand

Colorado red

It was a crisp, clear day in January when Annie saw this Colorado red fox hunting in her neighbour’s field in Aspen, Colorado, USA. The light was perfect and she took the photo as the fox approached her, looking right into the lens of her camera.

By: Annie Katz, USA

Facing the storm

Gunther arrived at the frozen sea ice in Antarctica in sunshine, but by the evening a storm picked up. Initially just strong winds, by the early morning snow had arrived. He concentrated on taking images of the emperor penguin chicks huddled together to shield themselves from the force of the snowstorm.

By: Gunther Riehle, Germany

Monkey ball

Cold temperatures on Shodoshima Island, Japan, sometimes lead to monkey balls, where a group of five or more snow monkeys huddle together to keep warm. Thomas observed a large group exhibiting this behaviour close to a tree, giving him the vantage point he needed. A few days and a tree climb later he got the image he desired.

By: Thomas Kokta, Germany

Opportunistic croc

Although this shot was taken from a safe hide, Bence recalls that it was chilling to see the frightening, killing eyes of this four-metre-long Nile crocodile. This individual was baited with natural carcasses on an island in the Zimanga Private Game Reserve, South Africa, but crocs also come here to bask in the Sun.

By: Bence Máté, Hungary

Eye contact

The Dalmatian pelican, seen here on Lake Kerkini, Greece, is the largest species of pelican in the world. It is native to eastern Europe, Russia and Asia, however, its population is currently threatened in some areas from hunting, water pollution and habitat loss, particularly a decline in wetlands.